IBM is making a big stink about its newest chipmaking methods, which it believes will let its Power6 chip (due out in 2007) run twice as fast as the versions out today. Instead of just miniaturizing, Big Blue says its process actually alters how silicon behaves, “squeezing” it to make it move faster.
The company claims the Power6 chip with this new technology will run at speeds between 4 and 5 gigahertz and should use less power because of its “holistic design.” Not so sure about that, but we have another year to bat the idea around.
IBM says alters silicon’s behavior to power new chip [Reuters]
